“Can You See What I Say?” Beyond Words

Empathic relational communication is a key competency in spiritual care for establishing a trusting pastoral relationship. Ministry with d/Deaf persons requires a deeper level of relational skill, where attentiveness to sign language, non-manual features, visual cues and facial grammar are important for meaningful pastoral relatedness. It is widely recognized that d/Deaf persons experience higher than average healthcare access barriers and associated psychological impacts, and therefore spiritual need. In addition, d/Deaf persons develop a non-auditory approach to emotional expression and communication. The competencies of clinical pastoral education (CPE) provide a natural context to further develop the necessary deeper relational skills for healthcare ministry. This article draws on the lived experiences of a chaplain for the d/Deaf engaged in CPE and a CPE educator, in order to highlight current deficiencies in pastoral care for d/Deaf persons, and to explore and illustrate how relational empathy and spiritual connection can be deepened among d/Deaf persons in healthcare by developing the competencies of CPE.Supplementary resource: video format in American, British and Irish sign languagesView ASL Keith Nolan videoView BSL Ayesha Gavin videoView ISL John Patrick Doherty video